5 Peculiar Irkutsk Museums

«Do not touch», read the plates of many museums. It’s a shame — some of the exhibits are almost begging to be touched. Wandering around the museums where you can touch anything, travel back in time, experience the laws of physics on your own skin or find yourself in a world of illusions make up for a world of different experiences. «So little time, so many things to see» is the main principle of these museums. Choose any of these five museum options and see it all for yourself. You can find four of the museums in Irkutsk, and the last one is located outside the city.

Angara Iceboat Museum

The production of an English company «SIR WG Armstrong», this iceboat is the only surviving ship of the five that were built before the 1917 revolution. In November 1990, this ship found a home in a Solnechni microdistrict pier and officially became a museum.

On this iceboat, you’ll get a tour of the ship and get to hear the stories of its difficult fate along with some anecdotes of nautical history of Baikal. Get a feel of being a captain of an icebreaker ship from the last century, take a walk on the deck and around the cabins, descend into the engine room and stand at the help of the ship. Nobody will hurry you. Wander around any forgotten corners, picture the scenes from the ship crew’s life in your mind and ask the guides anything you want. The staff will happily answer any of your questions.

Contacts

Working hours

09:00 — 21:00 daily

«Eksperimentary» science museum

This museum was founded in 2008 by the pure enthusiasm of several scientists and inventors. Every exhibit in Eksperimentary was made from the materials at hand, which varied from ordinary pieces of glass to computer system units.

Physics is an entertaining science, and this museum proves it. In here, you’ll study physics, and not by shifting through boring textbooks, but by literally experiencing the laws of physics on yourself. Test your honesty on a lie detector, relieve stress in a washing-machine-like contraption or have a seat at a surprisingly comfortable chair with a seat comprised out of 1024 nails.

Eksperimentary also has a planetarium. Two projectors take turns demonstrating the breathtaking beauty of the night sky. To visit the planetarium, gather a group of 10–35 people and book a tour by calling +7 (39–52) 68-99-15. Alternately, you can visit the museum’s branch building in 130th quarter, which you can visit alone and with no prior appointment.

Working hours

«Fantast» museum of optical illusions

The youngest museum in the city, «Fantast» was opened on December 26, 2014. Another group of science enthusiasts founded it, all of them professional physicists who created everything in the museum with their own hands from the scratch.

You are guaranteed to lose track of time in this museum. What feels like a half an hour turns out to be half a day. You’ll want to see everything at once, to touch all exhibits, to understand how they work. You can climb the floating steps, discover a real spy room and find yourself standing under a ribbon rain. A room of size distortion will turn into a giant only to shrink you like Alice in the Wonderland in the very next moment. A mirror maze will get you lost for a long time. You won’t be able to get out of the maze without a healthy doze or intuition, quick wit and good memory.

Contacts

Price

for adult — 300 rubles
for children — 200 rubles

Working hours

10:00 — 20:00 daily

Craftsmanship compound in the 130th district

This compound is a department of the Irkutsk Region House of Folk Arts. It is a great place to visit if you’re curious about the traditional Russian arts of woodcarving, lace-knitting, quilting, pottery and embroidery.

Take a pick and choose what you want to see. See the skillful works and meet their creators, learn the trade secrets of professional artists and try making something yourself. If you want to participate in a workshop session, call +7 (950) 130-41-30 for the details. If your visit coincides with Easter, Maslenitsa, Osenini or Christmas, you’ll get to see the folk band «Zarev Tsvet» perform the ceremonies during these holidays.

Contacts

Price

50 rubles

Working hours

10:00 — 20:00 daily

«Taltsy», architecture and ethnography complex

If you’re staying in Irkutsk for longer than a day, visit the open-air museum Taltsy. You can get there by getting into the 524th minibus from the Irkutsk bus station, by traveling Baikalski highway in a car or, if you’re traveling sometime from the beginning of June until the end of September, by the «Raketa» ship. The road to Taltsy takes around 40–50 minutes.

Be prepared to spend the whole day in this museum. Walk from the historically reconstructed Tofalar and Evenk campsites to the Buryat ulus, and then to the Russian rural village. Make stops at the workshop huts to admire the works of pottery, bark and twig-knitting. If you get hungry, stop by the local pub for snacks. And, if you visit Taltsy during Maslenitsa, try the crepes with all of the possible toppings. Maslenitsa crepes are the tastiest way to get acquainted with Russian cuisine.

Maslenitsa, Christmas, Easter and Troitsa are the best times to visit the museum. The holidays in Taltsy are spectacular, loud and reenacted with respect for the national history.

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